


Spidertot

by Wordsmith316



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Angst, Avengers - Freeform, Baby Peter Parker, Cute, De-Aged, De-Aged Peter, De-Aged Peter Parker, Fluff, Fluffy, Fun, Gen, Good Peter, Hurt/Comfort, Iron Man - Freeform, Irondad, Kinda some hurt/comfort, Marvel - Freeform, Peter Parker - Freeform, Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Sweet, baby Spider-Man, ill add more tags, lots of fluff, mainly fluff, mcu - Freeform, spider baby, spiderman - Freeform, spidertot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-02-28 06:44:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 11,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18751126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wordsmith316/pseuds/Wordsmith316
Summary: What if Peter were transformed into a tinyish gremlin thing, specifically an under developed, innocent, tinyish gremlin thing...( ﾟ,_ゝﾟ)... Ok a baby.What will tony do? Yeet him? Maybe.Drown his worries away with PG13 beverages? Possibly.Have regrets? Most definitely.But you’ll never know until you read it! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!Warning: This is going to be super fluffy. Guaranteed irondad moments 100%.(*PSA* I walk all over canon in this fic. It is abused and completely ignored. Read with care hehe)





	1. If a tatortot and a spider had a baby...

**Author's Note:**

> Ahoy! Thanks for giving this piece of half baked crap a chance. I. Appreciate. You. (✪㉨✪)

 

“Hello?” 

 

Tony stepped through the Parker’s apartment doorway. He kicked at a splintered sliver of wood, the door number 694 partially written on its cream colored face. He pressed his lips together grimly and stepped over another large chunk. 

 

He’d caught wind of some suspicious activity at the parker residence thanks to Friday. Peter and May were normally out at this time busy with school and work, so Tony assumed the “activity” was some thief hoping to make a buck off their tv or electronics … if that were the case, the door things was a bit excessive.

 

Broken glass crunched beneath his feet. Several drawers lay strewn through the walkway towards the kitchen. light shined from a broken kitchen window, reflecting off a knife protruding from the hallway wall. That’s… unusual for a simple burglary.

 

“Mrs. Parker? Anyone here.” 

 

He hoped the false peace of the house was due to the parkers absence and not from some horrific homicide. He placed his hand on the closet door beside him for support, and instantly recoiled. his hand was coated in a sticky red liquid that had been smeared across the baby blue drywall and over the door of the closet.

 

A wave of unease rushed over him as he quickly scanned the wood floors for a body. Nothing but glass and rubble.

 

“Peter! May!”

 

Tony fiddled with his watch calling one of his emergency suits then turned to the eerily dark hallway. Peters bedroom door was open slightly. A bloody hand print peaked out at him from around the door frame. Tony’s heart froze. He speed down the hallway pushing away a shattered vanity in his panic and nearly tripping over the carpet. He paused before Peter’s room. 

 

The door was cracked open slightly and hanging from only one of its hinges. Tony could barely see inside but, the torn posters on the wall and disassembled dresser visible from the crack was enough evidence to suggest the room was in as much disarray as the rest of the house.  _ Kid what did you get yourself into…  _

 

His mind rushed through the thousands of scenarios he might encounter. Peters disembodied corpse. an empty room covered in blood. An image of Peters terrified face flashed through his mind but he blinked it away.  _ Come on, keep it together stark. _ Tony squared his shoulders and shoved into the room, the door squealing in protest. 

 

Tony froze.  His eyes widening in mute surprise.

 

Sitting in a heap of oversized clothing, clutching an unconscious, bleeding aunt may, was a miniature sobbing, Peter Parker.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy! Let me know if you like this little tid bit of shame I call a chapter, in the comments below! If you absolutely liked it a little more, leave a kudos! Thaaaank you! (✪㉨✪)


	2. Oooooooh it’s magic! Ya knoooow...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony try’s to figure out what the heck is going on. Bruce helps. Peter does not help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 baby! It may be cringe but at least you’ll grin! (Alright I’ll die now...) (✪㉨✪)

“...So?” 

Bruce looked up from his tablet to meet Tony’s question, Bruce’s eyes gray with exhaustion and bewilderment. 

“So what?”

Tony paced to the other side of the office and pointed to Peter who was sitting on a medical table, popsicle in tiny hand, in the adjoining observation room. He was wearing an oversized stark intern tee shirt that resembled a dress more than a shirt on his small frame and some tiny pants tony had managed to scavenge from a box of hand-me-downs one of his scientist had left at the lab. Tony tapped on the glass thankful it was one sided.

“Take a guess Bruce, you’ve got a brain. What the heck happened to the kid!?”

“I’m not a magician, I’m a geneticist, there only so muc—“

“Yeah yeah,” tony crossed his arms, “Just tell me the facts, why has peter turned into some.. some freaking infant?!

Bruce sighed. 

“Tony all I’ve got is that he’s healthy besides a few bruises and scrapes. It looks like he got into some sort of fight, but other then that…” he shrugged and shoved the tablet under his arm.

“Hes simply a healthy, child of 1 to 3 years of age. There’s no signs of foreign chemicals or toxins in his bloodstream…”

Tony scoffed.

Look, I’m just as stumped as you are, people aren’t supposed to… reverse age!” Bruce bristled crossing his arms. Tony’s scowl deapend.

“So there’s nothing we can do? Peter will forever be stuck as a sniveling gremlin?”

“He’s a child, not a gremlin, but as for the time being… uh yes” Bruce opened one the the white pristine draws attached to the office desk/sink against the wall and retrieved a thick manella file. 

“I’m not giving up on him, there’s obvious foul play involved in this situa—“

“You think?!”

Bruce raised his eyebrows at Tony’s outburst pressing the folder into the table calmly. 

“Listen tony, I’ll do everything I can, but for now, I think the best thing for Peter would be to keep him calm and safe.

“I’m not a damn babysitter…”

Bruce slammed his hand down on the office desk table. His eyes glinted green as the standard wall clock shook slightly behind him.

“You know what Tony?! Peter isn’t just another damn kid now is he!” Silence stretched between them as Bruce took a few calming breaths. He smoothed his hair in frustration and paced behind the desk, splashing some water on his face from the built in sink. Tony inched over to him shoving his hands into his pockets. 

“Hey, I know you care about Peter as much as anyone else… and I promise you he’ll stay here at least until his aunt wakes up. but everyone knows I am no good with kids. For Pete’s sake I was barely able to manage Peter when he was fifteen” 

Tony laughed bitterly and picked up a stray pencil from the desk. Bruce glanced up at him but his eyes are far away focused on something past tony.

“I just don’t understand.” Bruce shook his head in bewilderment.

“There is no logical explanation for this whatsoever.” 

Tony sat silently for a moment his fingers pressed against his lips in thought. Finally he shrugged and stood a little straighter. Bruce numbly watched tony saunter towards the office door and swing it open. Tony glanced back at Bruce from inside the doorway and smirked.

“That’s why I called you up first bud, if anyone can figure this kid out, it’s you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whhhaaaa?! You’re still here! Stupendous! Leave me a comment explaining why this fanfic has caught your eye. Cause honestly it ain’t my “riveting” personality or grammar skillz (✪㉨✪)...
> 
>  
> 
> thank you!


	3. popsicles are overrated anyways

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pete gives Tony another heart attack! Tony is confused...

Tony stepped into the observation room and paused at the sorry sight sitting before him.

Peter had a dazed look in his eyes as his blue popsicle, completely untouched, had all but melted over his tiny fist and into a sticky puddle beside him. He snapped out of his daze at the sound of the door closing behind Tony, but his eyes brightened slightly when he saw Stark.

“Hey...bud.” Tony forced a smile and offered a hand, then changed his mind and awkwardly shoved them into his pockets instead.

Peter sniffed and scooched across the table with one hand while keeping a firm hold on the popsicle in the other. Tony stepped towards him, patting his shoulder gingerly.

“Woah kid, Ah.. you don’t want to fall off..er.” He cringed as Peter offered the popsicle to him.

“Yeah uh thanks.” he took it by the stick with two fingers and placed it down in the syrupy puddle. Tony turned back to Peter but was met with an empty table.

“Peter?” He scanned the floor by his feet, the door slammed shut. Tony froze.

Dammit.

He spun on his heels and shoved the door open.

“Peter!?”

Afternoon light streamed through several large windows across from him, illuminating the wide peaceful lab intersection and its many adjoining hallways. No peter in sight. how in the world was that little punk so fast? He rubbed his temple anxiously, trying to think of a solution for a problem he thought he’d never face.

pat,pat,pat.

Tony snapped at the sound of tiny footsteps.

Ah ha!!

He booked down one of the hallways praying that it would lead to the runaway toddler. He pushed through a doorway and turned another corner. The hallway was empty besides tiny, blue hand prints along the wall here and there. Good. At least Peter was easy to track. Catching him was a different matter.

He noticed the hallway dead ended at a single door. His stomach dropped at the sign above, and began sprinting the rest of the way down the hallway. He ripped the door open just in time to see Peter shakily clutching the railing and attempting to reach the first step of a flight of stairs.

“Ah ha!!” Tony scooped Peter up, foiling his death mission, and carefully placed him on the other side of the door away from danger.

“Peter what the Hel—er.. were you thinking?” Tony closed the door securely, while Peter stared up at him with the same dazed expression. Tony felt the first prick of annoyance.

“Listen kid you can’t go running off like that, you nearly gave me a heart attack.”

Tony laughed bitterly.  
“Not quite in the mood for another one of those.” he muttered

he picked Peter up and began walking back towards the lab.

“May.”

Tony paused next to one of the lab rooms and blinked. Was that tiny, pipsqueak voice really Peter’s? He looked at Peter clutching his suit with blue stained hands and grimaced as several fat tears rolled down the toddlers face. Peter wiped at his eyes and whimpered.

“...Maay…”

Tony cringed inwardly. Of course the kid wanted to see his aunt. But currently she was bloodied and battered and completely comatose. Peter wouldn’t understand the situation with his now tiny ‘kid’ mind. He would only get more upset when she wouldn’t respond to him. He rubbed Peters back in an attempt to sooth and continued his journey toward the lab.

“It’s alright bud, you’ll see her soon.”

Tony wasn’t sure how much the kid could actually understand, but Peter seemed to calm down a little, resolving to sniffling and the occasional sob. He couldn’t blame the kid for crying. He’d been through a lot. in fact he wouldn’t have been surprised if Peter completely lost it and screamed his head off. But instead the kid remained silently mournful.

It was a bit unusual how different Peter was as a baby compared to the quirky teenage Peter. Baby Peter seemed solemnly quiet and reserved while the teen was bursting with energy and had a mouth that never stopped running. It was a little eerie in fact to think the child he was caring in his arms was the same Peter he had commissioned to fight some of the most powerful individuals on the planet. That’s a guilt trip for another time...

By the time Tony had made it safely back inside the lab room, peter seemed to be over his grief and was attempting to keep his eyes open. Tony smirked as Peters head drooped against his shoulder only for the kid to pull himself back up. He sighed and sat in a rolly chair by the examination table.

What was he gonna do? He couldn’t just leave his prodigy alone in a room all day, Peter had proven himself to be trouble if left unsupervised (not much change there)… but he couldn’t stay with Peter, he had an entire enterprise to run including a team of superheroes.

He tapped his chin thoughtfully. Peter had finally lost the battle to sleep, his head heavy against Tony’s shoulder. Tony tried not to be too disgusted by the inevitable drool that would be left on his jacket sleeve. The silence in the room felt out of place after Peter's little stunt. In fact, the calmness only seemed to rekindle the nagging, anxious feelings Tony had been pestered with early.

This must be how Clint feels.

Tony cringed the instant he thought it, and groaned in despair.

Which is exactly why I’m never having kids.

He sat for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts and calm his unsettled nerves. His mind hurt from the unanswered questions. People can’t unage themselves. Bruce's voice seemed to float to him from beyond the void, stating the core of his anxiety.

He scowled at Peter’s still form. If the kid had an ounce of his old sense back, he’d be able to tell him exactly what happened to him and Aunt May. Unfortunately, Peter had the body and the mental capacity of a tiny human now. May wouldn’t be any help either since unconscious people were terrible witnesses.

He stood as an idea came to him. Bruce had mentioned it earlier! Something about magicians... It had to be magic. Yeah! Maybe Loki had looked down (or up) from wherever he was and thought “huh I’m in the “let’s make everyone go bat crazy’ mood today!” and zapped Peter with some kind of reverse age spell.

He smiled at his revelation. That had to be it! He looked down at Peter again, the smile slowly fading along with his euphoria. But why would Loki destroy the apartment. Why would Aunt May be allowed to stay an adult. Why wasn’t Peter unconscious in the infirmary along with May?

Why was the kid staring at him?!

Peter studied Tony’s face in a sleepy haze. Tony tried to smile, but he was a bit put off by mini Pete™. What on earth was he going to do…

Tony groaned. He knew where he had to go. Despite his distaste for sharing his personal issues with others, this was the best choice for Peter. Tony turned abruptly towards the observation room door. Peter clutched Tony’s jacket barely keeping his balance as the door swung open.

“Alright kid, you’ve talked me into it. Let’s get you to the avengers headquarters.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy! Let me know if you like this little tid bit of shame I call a chapter, in the comments below! If you absolutely liked it a little more, leave a kudos! Thaaaank you! (✪㉨✪)


	4. Who wants a Big Mac

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What do babies even eat” and other thrilling topics with Tony Stark
> 
> Special guest Natasha Romanov

“Tony, what the hell is going on” 

 

Peter clutched Tony’s shirt tighter as the fiery red head spy eyed the two. She squinted at Tony her eyebrows furrowing as she crossed her arms. 

 

“If your trying to pull some kind of prank, I will not hesitate to—.”

 

“Now now, watch your tone around the baby” Tony walked towards the couch in the avengers common room and placed Peter down on one of the cushions. Tony eyed him wearily. He turned back to Natasha and nearly jumped, her face several inches from his.

 

“Geez! Ever heard of personal space?”

 

“Tony, please tell me that kid is not who I think it is” the fake fireplace across from them crackled softly. It’s heat nothing compared to the burning intensity in Romanov’s eyes. Peter whimpered from the couch. 

 

“What do you want me to say?” Tony nonchalantly turned to Peter, thankful for the momentary diversion. He picked up the remote on the couch arm rest and flipped channels until Sesame Street flickered across the large flat screen tv above the fireplace. 

 

“Tony.” Natasha snatched the remote out of his hand and pointed it at him.

 

“What have you done to Peter?”

 

“I don’t follow.” 

 

She growled tossing the remote on the low coffee table in front of the couch.

 

“Don’t play dumb with me.” She cocked an eyebrow, danger laced through her words, “I can still tell everyone what happened last weekend, when I found you with that Squeegee and pink—“

 

“easy tiger, no need for brash decisions here.” Tony sighed and sat down beside Peter.

 

“I don’t know what happened ok, I just found The kid in his room like this sitting next to his unconscious aunt.” Tony shrugged, “Bruce and I couldn’t find any physical anomaly as an explanation, my only guess is that it’s some sort of spell.”

 

“Like magic? You think Peter was cursed?” Tony scoffed and hunched over his knees with is face in his hands.

 

“That’s the million dollar question.” 

 

Natasha remained silent, her eyes flickering with different emotions as she processed this new piece of information. She slowly walked to the side of the couch, crouching so she was eye level with Peter. His face was turned away from her, eyes glued to the tv screen as Big Bird had a conversation with Oscar the Grouch on how “sarcasm is not a healthy coping mechanism, so can you not”.

 

“What are you going to do with him?” Tony flinched at her soft words.

 

“Sell him to an Italian mafia as a baby hitman.” 

 

“ _ Tony. _ ”

 

“I don’t know. I was hoping Thor would know something since his brother is...,” he made a waving gesture with his hand, “magically delicious”

 

“What about strange?” Peter shifted slightly and Tony glanced up from his hands to see Natasha studying Peters face.

 

“What about him? He’s probably busy fighting aliens somewhere.”

 

“Sounds familiar” 

 

“Yeah i'm pretty sure aliens are the entrance exam for ‘official superhero ™ ’”

 

Natasha sighed and stood up from her crouch.

 

“Well the kid seems to have adopted the intelligence of a child as well. His eyes are the same as Clint’s youngest” 

 

“I could’ve told you that, he nearly killed himself via stairs earlier”

 

Peter was still staring at Natasha in awe when Tony picked him up from the couch. He carried him to the kitchen and set him on the counter. Natasha followed leaning against the counter across from them. Tony opened the fridge. He shuffled through several shelves loudly before growling in frustration.

 

“I don’t even know what babies eat!” Bruce had given Peter a popsicle during the check up, but Tony was about 75% sure Peter couldn’t survive on popsicles alone. Plus, he had to consider the kids accelerated metabolism (yes the kid still had freaking superpowers). The amount of calories a baby could consume would have to be doubled for Peter, maybe tripled. Then there was nutrition, and choking hazards, and Peters own pickiness. 

 

“You think if I put a Big Mac in the blender he’d eat it?”

 

“That is like the worst idea. Ever.”

 

“He liked Big Macs when he was older!”

 

“Never have kids Tony”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so I’m not sure how canonically accurate I want this to be. I kinda want the entire avengers fam together but like... there was a civil war (✖╭╮✖) ...
> 
> I’m thinking I may break a few rules with the upcoming chapters, but what else is new! It’s fan fiction! *wink wink*
> 
> As always, if you enjoyed this disgraceful display of my own wish fulfillment, leave a kudos! 
> 
> If you felt extra emotional, maybe even shed a tear for the future of our dear canon spider boi, shoot me a comment! (✪㉨✪)
> 
> Love ya!
> 
>  
> 
> bye!


	5. Our prices are to die for!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a casual shopping trip, On a casual sunny evening, with a casual baby and his bodyguard. 
> 
>  
> 
> What could possibly go wrong?

“You know Happy, I think this look suits you”

 

Happy growled as he pushed a shopping cart through two automatic sliding doors. Natasha strolled beside him, quietly enjoying the perturbed look on His face. Peter, oblivious to the body guard’s discomfort, peered around curiously from the kiddie seat attached to the cart. 

 

Happy had never.  _ Never.  _ In his life thought that he would be in a situation like this. Of course, things had stopped surprising him after he was hired by Tony Stark, but still. This was a little strange even for his eccentric billionaire boss.

 

“when will I ever stop being this kids personal Chauffeur.”

 

Natasha smirked.

 

“Don’t be surprised when Tony gives you a little chauffeur hat.” She paused as Happy raised an eyebrow, “I saw him order it on amazon the other day.” His face crumpled into a sneer of disgust. Natasha couldn’t help but laugh a little, hiding her smile behind her hand.

 

She had thought it wise to disguise herself for this little outing. She still had her trusty baseball cap from when she and Cap had gone undercover, and since it had worked so well then…

 

“I’m still baffled as to why you came with me Romanov.” Happy scrolled through his phone with one hand, while pushing the cart with the other.  He stifled a sigh at the many texts and missed phone calls he had yet to answer, and wouldn’t be able to answer until after his little ‘errand’.

 

Tony had given him the abridged version for “why peter is weird now” before rushing off. He hadn’t said why he had to leave so urgently and dump mini Parker on him. All Happy could recall Tony saying was “Jarvis prepare Mark XLIII” and “stupid gangsters won't stop touching my stuff”. Thankfully Natasha filled him in on the other missed details.

 

“I have nothing better to do..., Natasha smiled at Peter, “besides, this is far more entertaining than watching the same old avengers security footage and news reports.” She ruffled His hair playfully. Peter smiled shyly in turn, covering his head with his arms.

 

“Wow, how awful ” Happy scoffed. 

 

He turned down an isle, then stopped abruptly. Glaring at a row of multi-flavored pudding cups for a moment, he glanced at Natasha quizzically.

 

“Where the heck do I even find baby food anyways?” 

 

Natasha sighed.

 

“This is why I came. You and Stark don’t know the first thing about taking care of babies” Happy grunted, but didn’t argue. 

 

Natasha shook her head in mock disappointment and started walking towards the other end of the store. 

 

“Alright, follow me”

 

To Happy’s surprise, there was an entire section dedicated to children and baby supplies. Natasha lead him to the toddler section and immediately began filling the cart with goods.

 

“How do you know if he’s old enough for this stuff?” Happy held a bag of frozen tater tots, examining the ingredients on the back.

 

“My partner has three kids, all of which I’ve lent a hand in raising.” She took the tater tots from him and put them back into the cart, “trust me, I know what I’m doing.”

 

“Whatever you say…”

  
  


Happy was relieved when they finally made it to the checkout station. When all was said and done, they had bought enough “kid” food to feed a small army, plus three bags of toddler clothes, pacifiers, a blanket, sippy cups, a kid “leash” (why had no one told him about these before?), pull ups, and a pack of outlet covers Natasha swore they would need. 

 

They made their way back to a painfully average looking car; For once Tony had suggested not drawing attention to themselves. 

 

“So how do you know we’ll use all this stuff,” happy cursed as the straps to secure a new car seat slipped from his fingers. They had purchased it last minute so as to avoid any toddlers flying through the windshield.

 

“What do you mean?” Natasha glanced back from the passenger seat, Peter sitting contently on her lap. 

 

“Well, aren’t—damn!...aren’t we trying to fix the kid as soon as possible?”

 

“Of course we are” she looked back at Peter, he was looking out the window intently, but Natasha couldn’t see what had caught his eye.

 

“I know Tony will chase every lead for this kid, but for now all we can do is...” 

 

“What was that?” Happy looked up to see Natasha studying Peter. There was a sharpness to her gaze which put happy on edge. 

 

“What? What’s wrong?” Happy pulled himself out from the back seat compartment and went to stand next to the open passenger side door. He looked between Natasha and Peter, his hand hovering over the hidden weapon attached to his hip.

 

“I think…” her words fell short as Peter shivered, and looked around, his eyes wide with confusion and fear.

 

“I think it’s his 6th sense Tony was talking about”

 

Happy raised his eyebrows “his spider sense?” He quickly scanned the parking lot, it seemed empty except for a hand full of cars scattered here and there. He looked back at Natasha.

 

He saw Natasha tense, drawing Peter to her chest. 

“I don’t se—“ there was a deafening boom. 

 

Natasha’s eyes widened.

 

Happy’s words left his lips.

 

Flying as quickly as the bullet that struck him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... that escalated quickly... (•⊙ω⊙•) 
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Shoot me a comment if you liked it! I’m excited to continue this (a terrible desicion really...), and see where it goes. (✪㉨✪)


	6. And an extra helping of pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone’s got a death wish...
> 
>  
> 
> Hopefully they aren’t afraid of black widows... hehe

Bullets ricocheted off the pavement. Happy threw himself into the back seat, his ears ringing, body coursing with adrenaline. He crouched down on the floor of the car, behind the passenger seat, as a bullet shattered the side window above him.

 

Silence fell as suddenly as it was broken. Happy used the uncertain peace, to peak out the broken window and locate the attacker.

 

“Happy!?” 

 

He spotted movement from the roof of the grocery store and cursed.

 

“Happy. Are you alright?” 

 

“Yeah I’m— crap he’s getting away.” 

 

“How bad were you hit?” 

 

He barely heard the question as he watched the figure disappear from the edge of the roof. 

 

“Happy”

 

“I’m fine, I’m not letting him get away” he scrambled to his feet. Natasha stepped in front of him, shoving Peter into his arms.

 

“ No, take the kid, I’ve got this.” She was sprinting across the apartment and around the building’s corner before an argument even crossed Happy’s mind. He blinked, his body longing to follow after her. What had just happened? Facts and information coursed through his brain, stringing together to create some kind of logical answer. It usually worked, but today was the exception. 

 

He heard a child screaming. That wasn’t right. The screaming felt important to him somehow. Why…?

 

He looked down at Peter’s tear stained face. Right the kid. 

 

He ignored the guilt crashing into his stomach, and wrapped Peter in his arms, holding the kid protectively against his chest. He placed a hand on the back of the boy’s head.

 

“It’s alright little bud, it’s okay now.” Peter hiccuped against Happy’s shoulder, gasping in between sobs. Happy lowered himself to the ground, leaning heavily against the side of the car. He held Peter tightly until his sobs slowed and his breathing began to even. 

 

“Atta boy Parker, see? This isn’t so bad.” Happy stiffened at the sound of a gun firing, It sounded farther away. Peter began sobbing again, curling in on himself and burrowing his face deeper into Happy’s jacket. 

 

“Easy kid, we’re safe.” 

  
  


Happy tilted his head back, peaking through the broken window at the grocery store and the last place he saw Natasha. 

 

“Black Widow’s got this” he said. 

 

_ I’d feel more sure if she wouldn’t take her sweet time apprehending this guy though. _

 

He looked back down at Peter. There was something red on the kids hand he hadn’t noticed before.  _ he’s injured?  _ He gently took his hand. Peter sniffed in response, looking up at happy with tearful eyes. 

 

What’s—?” Happy noticed the stain on his shoulder, slowly expanding across the cloth of his suit and frowned

 

“Oh…” he’d noticed a dull throb coming from his shoulder earlier, but he hadn’t thought anything of it. He pulled Peter further away from his chest and scanned his tiny shaking form. Thank God no bullets hit him. But his frown hardened when he saw the many cuts along the kids left arm. 

 

_ He must have got cut when the windshield broke. _

 

He pressed his lips together in anger. _ Tony’s gonna murder this guy.  _

 

_ Tony!  _

 

Happy took out his phone, sending His boss a message as quickly as he could. He pressed send just as he heard the sound of feet hitting pavement. He struggled to stand, yelping at the sharp pain his movement provoked from his wound. 

 

Natasha was striding purposefully towards the car, Happy noticed a slight limp in her gait and ran to meet her, wincing along the way. He paused for a moment, shocked by her bloody lip. He raised his eyebrows.

 

“Please tell me you killed him.”

 

Natasha’s face was void of emotion, but her words dripped with venom.

 

“No, he got away.” Happy grimaced, biting back his response.  _ How could you have let him get away!! How could this happen?!  _

 

He had enough sense to not question the lethal assassin. He understood that when Natasha lost someone, it was near impossible for anyone else to catch them. 

 

_ Especially someone with a hole through their chest. _

 

They stood silently for a moment.

 

“You’re injured” Natasha finally said, her voice lacking its edge.

 

Happy shook his head. The pain was getting worse, but he wasn’t to the point of concern yet.

 

“So is the kid.” Natasha glanced at Peter, he was calmer now, if not shaken. She stepped forward silently offering to take him, which Happy was more than glad to oblige. 

 

“Did you call Tony?” She held up Peters arm inspecting the more serious cuts.

 

“I texted him a few seconds ago, he should be here soon”

 

Natasha nodded. She walked to the car, her limp barely noticeable and sat on the trunk, hopping a little to reach it. Happy followed suit, sitting less gracefully beside her and placing a hand on his wound.

 

It took Stark about 10 minutes to reach them. Happy had sent him several updates in between. Answering his questions as best he could. Happy was relieved when his boss came in a car rather than his suit. Of course, the car was built like a tank.

 

“What the hell happened” Tony walked towards the weary three, his eyes lingering on Happy’s bloody shoulder.

 

“Where is the son of a—“

 

“He got away.” Natasha said curtly, Tony snapped his attention to her, their eyes locking, “We need to talk.” 

 

Tony crossed his arms.

 

“Yeah. Apparently.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy! Hohoho I got this puppy in late! It’s a bit rough around the edges, but it’s all yours to consume. So Bon appétit! Hopefully you don’t get food poisoning! 
> 
> Leave me a comment or kudos if you enjoyed this little tid bit of mine. 
> 
> As always thank you for reading! (✪㉨✪)


	7. Sleepy spider

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The poor kid finally gets some sleep...

Tony wasn’t one to dawdle.

 

In fact, he viewed his quick decision making as one of his strongest attributes. Along with his ability to woo any and all to his side (most of the time that is...).

 

Tony had his bodyguards transfer everything Natasha and Happy had bought into the trunk of his “death” car 3000.

 

At the Avengers clinic, Natasha was given a couple stitches for her lip plus a few days rest due to a sprained ankle. Happy on the other hand was sent into emergency surgery minutes after he arrived. Tony had Bruce check over Peter and bandage his arm. The cuts had already started healing thankfully. The kids healing factor never ceased to amaze him.

 

“So, did you find anything new since we talked?” Bruce looked up from wrapping the bandage around Peter’s arm.

 

“You mean in the past 5 hours since we talked? Have I found anything new…”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Bruce sighed.

 

“I was able to pinpoint his exact age, but other then that...” Bruce shrugged, “when I said I need time I meant a couple days not a couple hours Tony.”

 

“What’s his age then.” Tony looked at Peter, who was attempting to pull off his bandage with little success. He felt like he was missing something. What if the person who did this to Peter hadn’t been able to finish the job. Maybe he hadn’t intended for him to stay a baby. He stepped back chewing on his lip in thought.

 

“Oh uh… the results read that he’s 19 months old.” Tony nodded. Bruce cocked his head to the side and glanced between Peter and Tony.

 

“What’s wrong? Is there something else I should know?”

 

“No…maybe?.” Tony shook his head he stepped towards Bruce lowering his voice.

 

“I just had a thought that… what if whoever did this to the kid hadn’t planned on stopping.” Bruce squinted at Tony.

 

“I don’t—“

 

“Look, what if he meant for Peter to—“ he laughed bitterly at the absurdity of his theory, “—de-age him out of existence” he finger quoted the word de-age, fully recognizing how crazy it sounded. To Tony’s surprise, Bruce frowned, and nodded his head.

 

“Actually, That would make a little sense, or at least as much sense as this situation allows.”

 

Bruce shrugged.

 

“I don’t know tony. You might be right, who really knows anything?” Tony nodded. he stepped up to Peter, scooping him into his arms and striding towards the door. He kicked it open calling behind d him to Bruce as he went.

 

“Shoot me a text if you find anything” he barely caught Bruce’s mumbled reply before the door closed. He walked down the hall, thinking of the past several chaotic hours and huffed. _At least we have something._ He glanced down at Peter stepping into the elevator at the end of the hall.

 

_At least we still have Peter._

 

Peter was utterly exhausted. Tony didn’t need to be a degree to figure that out. He had set Peter up at the table in a highchair, with some of the new food they bought him. Of course the kid fell asleep, ignoring all his efforts on child “cuisine”.

 

Tony stood across the counter from the sleepy toddler. Peter had chosen the more comfortable sleeping position, if not unconventional. That being, laying head first in his green beans and chicken nuggets, arms resting beside him. Tony frowned.

 

“Hm, tough customer.”

 

“Okay, I have to admit I didn’t believe you when you first told me about this” Tony looked up, smiling as Pepper strolled into the kitchen. She walked up to him, placing her arms around his neck casually.

 

“You’ve been busy.”

 

Tony rolled his eyes, stealing a kiss from her smirking lips.

 

“When am I not?” She raised an eyebrow, but her smile remained.

 

“What?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

“No come on tell me.”

 

Pepper laughed and turned away, ignoring Tony’s prodding. He stepped around to face her, leaning against the kitchen counter behind him.

 

“What’s on your mind?” She tilted her chin up, imitating his familiar cocky expression.

 

“Well I was just recalling all the times you were busy, doing nothing—“

 

“What?! Not true!” Tony exclaimed, Pepper held up her finger.

 

“—while I did all the heavy lifting.”

 

Tony gasped, placing a hand over his arc reactor.

 

“Rude.”

 

“It’s true”

 

He growled, encasing her in his arms while she laughed in surprise.

 

“What would I do without you?”

 

“Die in a puddle somewhere I’m sure.” both of them froze turning to face the intruder rudely interrupting their moment. Rhodey nodded at them, circling the counter and opening the fridge beside them.

 

“Hey Rhodes, your timing is impeccable.”

 

“Thanks, I learned it from you.” he shot back, from behind the fridge door.

 

Tony sighed releasing Pepper. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek, then went to the other side of the counter where Peter was dozing.

 

“looks like someone had a long day.”

 

“The kid’s a magnet for trouble” Tony muttered, Rodey appears beside Tony, taking a swig from TONY’S, milk carton.

 

“Dude, get a glass.”

 

“What are you going to do with the kid.” Rhodey ignored him placing the carton on the counter. Tony rolled his eyes, he stepped past Rhodey, moving to stand on the other side of Peter.

 

“Fix him.”

 

Rhodey opened a cupboard, retrieving a box of cereal.

 

“How?”

 

Pepper brushed a few strands of hair off the kids face, he looked… ridiculous with his face in green beans and mouth slightly open in sleep. Tony rolled his eyes.

 

“I’ll find a way.”

 

Rhodey made a dissatisfied sound, but didn’t argue.

 

“Well if anyone can do it, Tony Stark can.” Pepper put a hand on Tony’s shoulder, squeezing reassuringly before heading out towards the common area.

 

“Come to bed soon please?”

 

“No promises.” She rolled her eyes and turned, leaving through the door on the other side of the common room. Tony grinned softly to himself before crouching down beside Peter.

 

“Alright Underoos, lets get ya cleaned up.”

 

“Good luck,” Rhodey said, his mouth half full of cereal, as he walked towards the back of the common room. He left through a hidden door Tony was starting to regret installing.

 

Tony bit his tongue, hesitant to move Peter in fear of disturbing him. He looked so peaceful. _This is a lot harder than I thought._ Tony sighed and slowly inched his hand under Pete’s arms. He stirred slightly, making Tony pause, before lifting him up out of the chair. Peter stiffened, lifting his head up and stretching his arms out.

 

“It’s ok bud.” He smirked as Peter rubbed at his face, smearing a green bean across his cheek, “heh it’s a good thing your not self aware.” Peter yawned in response, his eyes remaining closed. Tony carried him to the sink and washed off his face with a damp paper towel. Peter scrunched his nose, at feeling of something wet on his face and cracked his eyes open.

 

“Sorry kid.” he said brushing the green bean off his cheek and picking some chicken out of the kids messy hair.

 

“You can thank me later.”

 

Once Tony was satisfied, he threw the paper towel away and walked towards the couch, sitting down. Peter snuggled against Tony, sighing contently. despite himself, Tony placed a hand on Peter’s head, stroking his hair gently. The kid seemed perfectly fine to sleep like this, here on Tony’s chest sitting in the avengers common room. Honestly, Tony couldn’t blame him. He felt sleep tugging at the corners of his consciousness as well. Tony shifted his body around, lifting his feet onto the couch and stretching out.

 

Peter hummed contently, clenching tony’s shirt with one tiny hand. _Might as well stay here for a bit._ He would hate to wake the kid again after he had just fallen asleep. He’d lay on the couch for a couple minutes, then go join Pepper in bed. He closed his eyes wearily.

With all that had happened with civil war and beyond, he realized that he had come to care for Peter. What that meant for him was still a mystery, a mystery he wasn’t eager to solve, but one he knew he would have to face eventually. Tony brushed the thought away, embracing the calm darkness that enclosed his senses.

 

He’d deal with those feelings another time..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy! Thanks for reading my cringy writing. Sorry if this chapters is low quality (Like the other chapters were some high quality crap or something). 
> 
> I’m dead inside at the moment. 
> 
>  
> 
> But as always! Leave a comment or kudos if you enjoyed this sleepy little tid bit. (✪㉨✪)


	8. Candid conversation with Natasha

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who attacked Peter, Happy, and Nat?
> 
>  
> 
> How the heck is any of this connected to Clint and Sam?
> 
>  
> 
> Will Jarvis have them arrested?
> 
> HAHAHAHA who knows!

“Alright spill the beans, who attacked you?”

 

“Not who, _what_ attacked.” Natasha corrected, she attempted to adjust herself on the armchair she had been forced to sit on. Her injured ankle, propped up and wrapped in ice packs. Thanks to Bruce’s overbearing presence she was completely immobile. Her lunch sat untouched beside her..

 

“Oh I’m sorry, let me rephrase the question.” Tony cleared his throat, and spread his arms out on either side of him in mock apology, “What attacked you?”

 

Natasha glared, unamused.

 

“Just tell me what happened.” Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. For “some reason” he’d been suffering from a mild headache for the past couple days. He had the feeling the cause of it was a small munchkin that had invaded his house. Of course Pepper would blame on lack of sleep.

 

“We were unloading the groceries in the parking lot.” Natasha started evenly.

 

“Happy was in the back seat setting up the car seat, I was in the front passenger side seat with Peter. That’s when something shot at us from the roof of the store.”

 

Tony leaned forward in the wooden chair he occupied, propping himself up against his knees. “And you chased after it?”

 

“Correct, I left Peter with Happy, who was too injured to pursue, and followed on foot to the back of the store where I presumed the attackers escape method was.”

 

“So you fought him, lost, and he drove away…”

 

“No.”

 

Tony straitened in his chair and crossed his arms.

 

“Then what happened.”

 

“...He had a suit Tony. A metal one, like yours.” He froze, his head cocking slightly.

 

“ Excuse me? one of _my_ suits?”

 

“No, it was a completely different suit,” she shifted again, uncomfortable with sitting for so long, “it had no resemblance to yours.”

 

“Could his suit fly? Where the hell did he get his tech from?!”  Tony took out his phone, expanding the screen as different images and texts scrolled before him.

 

“No, it couldn’t fly, but the metal seemed enhanced some how.”

 

“Explain?” Tony pressed one of the images on his feed, enhancing it, before swiping it away for another image.

 

“He was faster than any normal man.” She raised her eyebrows in annoyance, as Tony typed vigorously on his phone,

 

“And it glowed.” Tony paused, and glanced st Natasha.

 

“Glowed?”

 

“Yes.” She crossed her arms, turning her head to look out the large window that made up half the wall beside them, “it was not of earth.”

 

Tony swiped away the screens. So it was magic? Or was it aliens… honestly it was getting harder for him to tell the two apart. He stood up and stretched. Maybe contacting doctor “magic and weird crap expert” strange was a good idea.

 

“Jarvis send me the security footage of the grocery store again.” He’d already scanned it several times with nothing to show for it. Many of the cameras had been tampered with leaving him with little visual clues. He hoped that with the new intel from Natasha he might notice something he’d originally found irrelevant. He turned to leave taking a few steps, before pausing to look back at Natasha.

 

“Stay off that leg, Bruce might just rip a seam...if you get my gist.”

 

Natasha scoffed. “Sure, and your welcome.”

 

Tony smirked and continued on his way. his phone screen glowed with the last 24 hours of grocery store footage, he may or may not have hacked illegally.

 

He hurried through two sliding doors that lead to a hallway, made a right, and took a short flight of stairs to a lower level. All the while his mind ran in circles trying to come up with a motive for the person who committed this truly unusual, but vile crime. He went down two more levels to reach his lab. His home away from home. His sanctuary.

 

He smiled, the time old feelings of peace mingled with the smell of grease and fire. Pure nostalgia bliss.

 

_Wait fire?!_

 

The Trance broke as he stepped through the automatic door only to duck as a flying blur of red and silver attempted to decapitate him. It clanked off the wall behind him, did a 180, and promptly speed back into the room.

 

“What the hell is—?!”

 

The room was littered with papers and metal parts. Furniture had been flipped and there were several new holes in the walls tony did not recall making.

 

“Tony!”

 

Tony looked up to see Sam (how the heck did he get in here?!), and Clint peaking out from behind a table propped up on its side.

 

“What are you doing in my lab?!”

 

“I let them in.” Tony turned to see Pepper crouched beneath another table closer to him. Tony dropped to the floor as the flying object, evidently redwing, swooped down at him a second time. He crawled away from the door and shuffled under the desk beside Pepper.

 

“Explain. Now.”

 

Pepper winced, her eyes flickered up towards the ceiling. Tony followed her gaze. His jaw dropped along with his heart.

 

Peter sat, upside down, on the _high_ ceiling of Tony’s lab, contently chewing on what appeared to be a metal glove. Tony opened his mouth, then closed it. For once in a long time, he was at loss for words. Finally his senses returned to him. He put a steadying hand on Pepper’s shoulder while his eyes remained focused on mr sticky fingers.

 

“How did he…?”

 

“I turned my back for one second” he pulled his eyes away from Peter to see the defeat written across Pepper’s face, “One second Tony.”

 

He looked back up at the spider baby and sighed. He probably should have warned Pepper of the kid’s freaky disappearing trick. Especially after the little staircase scare. The thought crossed his mind that he may have found this situation humorous under different circumstances. Like if it wasn’t his lab being destroyed. And If Sam and Clint hadn’t been there. Uninvited. In _his_ lab.

 

“Hang tight” he muttered. Standing up to call one of his suits. The pieces converged around him seamlessly in a matter of seconds. The moment he stepped into the open space, redwing began diving at his head like an angry wasp. Tony ignored it as it clanged harmlessly against his suit. His hand shot out snatching the drone in mid swoop. It fizzled and crunched beneath his fingers. He heard a gasp from one of the tables, and didn’t bother looking at the sad face of Sam Wilson.

 

He had more important things to worry about. Things like wrangling a wild baby. In fact he couldn’t care less how the two traitors felt. They could cry him a river. He looked up at Peter, his sensors scanning the kid instantly.

 

“Alright Underoos…”

  


He flew up to Peter, using his pulsar beams to hover gently beside him. Peter turned to look at him, dropping the gauntlet. His small face contorted, bottom lip trembling and eyes widening in fear.

 

Uh oh.

 

“Hey now,” Tony drew back his face plate and smiled, “let’s leave the mental breakdowns for someone else.” Peter blinked, drawing his arms closer to himself. Tony offered his hand up cautiously. Peter flinched.

 

“Come on, I’ve got you.” He carefully wrapped his arm around Peter, hating the frightened look the kid gave him as he removed his sticky limbs from the ceiling. Tony lowered himself to the floor placing Peter in the open arms of Pepper, before turning towards the to sheepish ex- avengers.

  


“Why am I seeing you right now? Why are you here?” He took a menacing step towards them, replacing his face plate so he could scan them.

 

Both Sam and Clint took a step back, Clint’s hand subconsciously moving to where his bow was propped against the table.

 

“Don’t even think about it Legolas.” Tony aimed one of his glove pulsars at Clint, the blue circle in the center of his palm humming with energy.

 

“Tony wait.”

 

Tony glanced behind him. Pepper stood, shoulders tense, a few feet away. Peter watched Tony with unease from her arms. _Thanks kid._

 

“I-I let them in,” Pepper sighed, closing her eyes.

 

“They told me they just wanted to talk…”

 

So you gave them the keys to my lab?” Tony turned on her, gesturing to the ransacked remains of his work place with one arm, “honestly not one of your brightest moments Pep.”

 

“No, we came in here chasing after your little… whatever he is.” Sam commented, drawing Stark’s attention back to him and Clint.

 

“I’m sorry I don’t do dialogue with traitors.” He switched back to Pepper who was now scowling.

 

“Why did you let them in.”

 

“Tony! They want to talk with you, I think that’s a good, productive idea.”

 

“yeah, I’m thinking the opposite actually.”

 

Tony turned toward the door raising his voice so Clint and Sam could hear him.

 

“Jarvis call the police for me. We’ve got trespassers. Again.”

 

“Wait Tony!”

 

“Jarvis, now please.”

 

Tony put his hand on the lab doorframe bringing forth the digital access pad and resetting the door auto lock.

 

“I’d suggest leaving now while you're ahead.” he said, stepping out into the hallway and waving a curt “goodbye” with one armored hand.

 

“We might know what happened to Peter.”

 

Tony froze. His logical side was screaming at him to go back and talk, while his ego told him to keep walking. He turned slightly to glance back at the two intruders still inside his lab.

 

“Come again?”

 

Clint gestured to Peter in Pepper’s arms and nodded.

 

“There’s something you need to see.”

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wasssup?! Thanks for the read! Leave a comment or kudos if you like this chapter! 
> 
> If you didn’t like it... 
> 
> leave a comment anyways! You are all great.
> 
> hang in there fam, the mcu is gonna be alright. (✪㉨✪)


	9. Say whaaaaat?!?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Together again, again. Gee it’s good to be together again, again!

“You have 5 minutes”

 

Sam and Clint exchanged glances. Both of them stalling, waiting for the other to answer the unspoken questions.  _ Where to start?  _ How could they convince the edgy, arrogant, currently hostile billionaire that they were on his side?

 

Clint stepped forward, glancing at Pepper as he spoke up.

 

“W-we caught wind of what happened at the grocery store yesterday.” 

 

Tony raised his eyebrows, biting back his response.  _ How did they find out? Did cap and his jolly criminal gang watch random grocery store footage? Someone had told them…  _ Tony scowled.

 

He’d find the mole later.

 

“And I—we, believe we know who attacked you,” Clint nodded at Peter, “and the kid.”

 

Clint paused, eyeing tony in an attempt to gauge his reaction.”

 

Tony scoffed.

 

“Okaay…?What’s his name?”

 

“He goes by Orphan Maker.” 

 

Tony smiled tightly and crossed his arms.

 

“Cute, what’s his partner’s name? The _ Nanny _ ?” No one laughed. Tony hadn’t expected them to. trash and scrap metal scraped against the tile floor as he casually walked towards the two, his tense shoulders clashing with the rest of his demeanor.

 

“We’ve been dealing with him for several months.” Sam said placing a hand on Clint’s shoulder, “he’s connected to several murders around the country.” Clint stepped aside, relieved for the conversation trade off, while Sam stepped up to Tony. 

 

“He’s known for his brutality, but that’s not why we think he’s your guy,” Sam picked a file up off the ground. Tony hadn’t noticed it before, scattered along with the other rubbish, but he didn’t recognize it as one of his own.

 

Sam offered the file to Tony, lips pressed firmly together.

 

Tony took the file and flipped it open, scanning the first page briefly. There was an image, fuzzy and warped, of a person in a metal suit made of silver plates. A blue light seemed to glow from inbetween each plate, but it was hard to tell with how distorted it was.

 

“He’s targeting mutants Tony” Sam rocked back on his heals, “mutants and the ‘gifted’”

 

Tony flipped the page. The paper crinkled slightly in his grip as he scanned the long list of names.

 

The deceased and missing.

 

He shook his head flipping the file closed.

 

“Alright so he targets mutants and people with powers…” Tony shrugged, “that doesn’t explain how spider man is now spider baby.”

 

“Actually it does.” 

 

“It’s his niche” Clint called. He was perched on the table they’d used for cover, which he’d turned right side up to sit on. He swung his legs.

 

“In fact there’s…” he looked up at the ceiling in thought, counting his fingers silently, then nodded , “...seven, yeah like seven cases of ‘de-aged victims’ that are connected to the Orphan Maker.”

 

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand waving the file at the two of them with the other.

 

“So there’s some guy with a metal ass like mine and magic that can de-age someone…, Tony sighed taking his hand away and shaking his head, “why haven’t I heard about these incidents before?”

 

Sam and Clint glanced at each other. 

 

“I mean… we’ve all kinda been preoccupied these last couple years.” Sam smirked gesturing to Tony, “it’s not like you can keep track of every criminal out there.”

 

“Yeah, but this warrants some attention.”

 

“You’re right, that’s why we came to tell you.” Tony glared at Sam, who raised his arms in surrender.

 

“Ok ok, we’ve told you the important bits, everything else is in that folder.” Sam turned gesturing to Clint.

 

“Let’s go” Sam walked passed tony towards the door, as Clint hopped off the table and followed suit. Tony ground his teeth. This wasn’t right. He knew in his tiny shriveled up crumb of a consciousness that he needed his team. He...ugh... _ wanted _ their help. He squeezed his eyes shut. Gritting his teeth, then sighed. He let the tension leave his body.

 

“Wait.” He heard the two pairs of footsteps stop and shook his head at what he was about to do.

 

“You came in here, broke into my lab… you’re not leaving that easily.”

 

“But didn’t you—“

 

Tony turned abruptly, his iron boots thudding against the tile floor as he stalked towards them.

 

“You’re staying here until I’ve figured this thing out.” He clenched his hand into a fist. This was so much harder then he had thought. He spit out the next words vehemently.

 

“You… and the rest of your criminal gang.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi-ho! Thanks for reading! Leave a kudos or comment if you enjoy my work! If you don’t, tell me anyway. I’m all ears! (✪㉨✪)


	10. Speak to me baby!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter says something.
> 
> TONY HAS FEELINGS!?!

Tony leaned against the wall beside the door to his lab. He scrubbed at his face with his hands, the feeling of exhaustion he’d been trying to escape from previously, loomed over him like an unwanted relative.

 

He heard the door open, heels clipped lightly against the floor.

 

“Tony, please take the suit off.”

 

He sighed, begrudgingly stepping out of his armor on Peppers request. He looked down at her expecting some kind of chastisement. Her expression was unreadable. She seemed torn between two different emotions. Her lips pursed. Eyes soft and unfocused. She blinked and gazed up at Tony.

 

“I… I’m proud of you Tony” she nodded tightening her grip on Peter, “you handled that far better then I had expected.” She smiled, but there was sadness behind it.

 

“Pep what’s—“

 

She shook her head in gentle dismissal, her smile remaining as she offered Peter out to him. Tony took the boy, but a new anxious thought, that he had done something wrong, blossomed within him. He was already concerned with housing Clint and Sam in the avenger headquarters (they both seemed a little too eager to stay...). And now pepper was upset with him for reasons she wouldn’t say.

 

“Pepper?”

 

“You look tired Tony,” she placed a hand on the side of his face, and kissed his cheek, “we can talk later.” She murmured, stepping away and walking down the hall. He followed her with his eyes as she disappeared around a corner.

 

_That women was going to be the death of him someday. Her or the kid._

 

Peter, who was eyeing him like he was a piece of gunk on the bottom of his shoe, pushed against Tony’s enclosed arms and attempted to wriggle his way out.

 

“Nice try kiddy.” He hoisted him up and adjusted his grip on the kid. Peter looked up at him, his tiny face scrunching into a scowl. He looked… adorable.

 

Tony grinned, and ruffled the kids hair as he began walking down the hall.

 

“Showing a bit of personality huh?”

 

“ _Down”_

 

Tony paused, raising his eyebrows. He’d almost forgotten the kid could talk. He’d only said one other thing to him, when he’d asked to go see May on the first day, but since then he’d been mute.

 

“Why don’t you use your words more often Pete?”

 

“ _Down…_ ”

 

“Mmm, I don’t think so.” Tony took Peter to the guest room he’d set up for him temporarily. Early afternoon light fell through the large glass windows framed by cream colored curtains at the back of the room. There was a crib set up by a queen size bed with all the things Happy and Natasha had bought for him set neatly in a pile beside the bedside table . Tony picked up the kiddy leash from the pile and sat on the corner of the mattress. He propped Peter up on one knee and unclipped the straps of the kiddy harness.

 

“Alright bud, lift your arms for me.” Peter was still scowling. He turned his head away.

 

“You little..?!” Tony shook his head in disbelief. The kid was smarter than he’d given him credit for. _Had he actually been playing dumb this entire time?_

 

“You can’t fool me anymore, I know you understand.” Peter glanced at him, his face turning to one of distrust.

 

“Don’t be shy, come on lift your arms.” Tony prodded, gently taking one of Peters arms and raising it slowly. Peter hesitantly raised his other arm, allowing tony to slip on the shoulder straps. He fastened the straps across Peter’s belly with a click, and tugged on the harness with satisfaction.

 

“There you go!” He grinned as Peter touched the harness. Grasping the straps in tiny hands.

 

“What do you think?”

 

Peter didn’t say anything. There was a little pocket on the front of the harness with a small frog plush inside. It was attached to a short string so that it couldn’t get lost. Tony didn’t understand the point of a ‘pocket plush’ but maybe kids were into that sort of crap. Peter touched the frog plush gingerly. He looked up at Tony. He seemed unsure with this new contraption he had put on him, which was fine. At least the kid wasn’t crying. Tony stood up, holding Peter in his arms while watching his prodigy’s reaction.

 

“Do you still want to walk?” Peter looked at him, eyes wide.

 

“Use your words.” Peter huffed, his small lips dipping into a pout. He looked away burying his face in Tony’s shirt.

 

“Come on bud, you know me,” he rocked on his heels, running his fingers through Peter’s hair. The kid sighed softly. Tony shook his head and walked towards the door. If the kid needed time to open up, then he’d give him time. Forcing Peter into anything wasn’t something tony liked or wanted to do. It was always better to let the kid figure things out in his own time.

 

“... _Down…”_

 

Tony stopped walking.

 

He peered at Peter. The kid peaked up at him through his eyelashes, hiding the rest of his face against Tony’s chest.

 

He raised an eyebrow.

 

“Can you say please? Please put me down?” He knew he was pushing his luck. The kid could only understand so much, but he wasn’t tony stark if he didn’t test the limits of things.

 

Peter blinked and his eyebrows drew together.

 

“ _P-pwea… pwease…_ ” Peter’s eyes brightened. He beamed up at Tony.

 

“ _Pwease_?”

 

Tony felt a warmth spread through his chest. He felt light. It was a feeling he wasn’t used to. _How come all these new feeling are connected to this kid?!_ Peter couldn’t help laughing at Peter’s triumphant expression.

 

Good job kiddo” he gently placed him down on the plush cream colored carpet, and smiled as the toddler looked around the room. Slipping the looped end of the leash over his wrist, he tapped Peter on the head gently.

 

“Alright, come on kid.” Peter reached up automatically, grasped Tony’s fingers in his tiny fist. Tony glanced down at the kid in surprise.

 

_There’s that warm fuzzy feeling again._

 

Tony ignored the feeling, adjusting his grip on Peter’s hand and walked out of the guest room. He was glad Peter had opened up to him. He really didn’t want the kid to get messed up by everything that had happened. Honestly, he had enough trauma to deal with already.

 

Tony lead Peter into the avengers common room. Slowing down every now and then so Peter wouldn’t trip.

 

“Are you hungry?” Tony asked leading Peter towards the kitchen. Peter nodded.

 

“Can you say ‘please feed me mr stark sir’.” Tony let go of Peter’s hand to lift him into the highchair.

 

“ _Pwease._ ”

 

Tony sighed, “I guess that's fine to.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always! Be a friend. Leave a kudos. Share your thoughts and leave a comment! Thanks for reading! (✪㉨✪)


	11. Why can’t we be friends?!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Steve have a heart to heart. Let’s hope it doesn’t turn into a fist for fist. Bwahahahahaha!! yup. (✪㉨✪)

Pepper stood in the doorway to Tony’s office. Or at least what was supposed to be his office. She knocked on the door frame, hoping to gain his attention.  _ Nothing.  _

 

“Tony?”

 

Something clanged loudly from the back of the room. Tony cursed but stayed hidden.

 

Pepper eyed the messy room wearily and sighed. _ Lovely. _

 

she stepped over an open tool box, a cart, cluttered with half assembled projects, squealed in protest as she pushed it aside. Tony was half hidden behind some large metal contraption sitting on his once expensive wooden desk. She noticed sparks flying in random bursts across the floor and struggled through the different metal tools and parts until she was in front of the desk.

 

Pepper grimaced at the burn marks and oil stains streaking along the side of the desk’s dark oak panels and cleared her throat.

 

“Tony.”  

 

More sparks. She saw his hand appear, reaching for some device before disappearing behind the hulking mass of metal and wires. 

 

“ _ Tony!” _

 

The sparks stopped, Tony’s head appeared from behind his ugly project. Pepper raised an eyebrow at his scruffy hair and welding visor. He walked around the desk to Peppers side, removing his visor and wiping his hands unceremoniously on his pants.

 

“Hey what’s up? I’m kinda in the middle of something pep. A man needs his lab time.” 

 

Pepper pursed her lips.  _ How did she fall for this man again?  _

 

She closed her eyes and took a calming breath.

 

“Tony,” she opened her eyes, pressing her fingertips together, “this is an office, not a lab.”

 

“An office is just a lab for nerds.”

 

“That doesn’t make any sense Tony.” 

 

“I’m Tony Stark, I make the unsensible, sensible, I can make an office my lab if I want to.”

 

“That desk cost thousands of dollars. Now it’s ruined.” 

 

Tony glanced back at the stained, half charred desk, then back at her.

 

“So?”

 

“It was an  _ antique. _ ”

 

He shrugged.

 

“...So?”

 

She sighed throwing her hands up in exasperation.

 

“You’re impossible.”

 

“you now me so well.”He grinned, taking Pepper’s hands in his own. She rolled her eyes.

 

”I’m swooning.” She pulled her hands away and stepped around Tony to look out the window. Rodey was practicing flight maneuvers above the lawn. He tumbled through the air blasting invisible obstacles and swooping towards the clouds. He was surprisingly graceful for someone encased in cold metal plates and stiff gears. He flew over the far right side of the yard where something bright caught peppers eye at the corner of the lawn. 

 

A blanket was stretched across the grass. Natasha was lying back casually, picking at the grass while Peter sat in her lap inspecting several partially crushed dandelions. Pepper smiled as Natasha plucked what appeared to be another fluffy yellow flower from the grass—the landscapers must have missed them while mowing—and handed it to Peter. 

 

Tony placed his hand on her shoulder, Breaking her trance.

 

“Why’d you actually come here pep? I know it wasnt to lecture me on office etiquette.”

 

She shifted, hating how Tony would react to her words, but knowing she’d stalled for long enough. She turned to look at him. Pressing her lips together in bleak resolution.

 

His expression darkened. He already knew what she was going to say, but she spoke them nonetheless.

 

“He’s here....”

.

.

.

Tony glared at the man sitting across the table from him, every cell in his body yearning to kick Steve’s self righteous butt out the door. He was still covered In grime from tinkering, but he couldn’t care less.

 

Steve held his gaze, his expression stony. He was wearing casual clothes along with his ‘vintage’ leather jacket. The nostalgia made Tony sick.  _ The arrogant prick. _

 

Rodey stood with crossed arms at Tony’s right. Natasha had vouched to watch peter during their meeting.  _ Smart considering her history with cap.  _ She had stayed with Peter outside on the lawn.  _ And out of earshot. _

 

Clint and Sam stood behind Steve, Clint eyeing Rodey, and Sam staring forward solemnly, hands clasped behind his back in military style. Pepper stood aside by the middle of the table, glancing between the two parties and their silent death match. 

 

Clint cleared his throat. 

 

Rodey shifted slightly.

 

Tony clenched his jaw. He would not be the first to speak. It was a little out of his nature to hold his tongue, he would admit it, but he felt that Captain “I’m always right” America should have the floor before Tony wiped him with it. 

 

Pepper huffed and tapped her fingers on the table.

 

“I know this is hard, but you’ll eventually need to stop glaring each other and actually talk things out.” Steve turned slightly to face Pepper, his expression remaining impassive.

 

“What’s there to say, it’s obvious nothing has changed.” 

 

Tony scoffed.

 

“Everything has changed thanks to you.” He pointed an accusing finger at Steve’s chest.

 

“You betrayed the team, you destroyed the avengers.”

 

Steve leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms.

 

“I did only what I thought was right—“

 

“So it was ‘right’ to ruin my life?! Take my legs away?” Rodey slammed the table with his palms, snarling at Steve. 

 

Rogers glanced away.

 

“We never wanted to fight.” He said quietly. He met Tony’s gaze. The sincerity in his eyes was disgusting.  _ The innocent angel Steve. _

 

“We had no choice.”

 

“There’s always another choice.” Tony deadpanned.

 

“Yeah fight or sign the accords.”

 

“It seems like a no brainer to me.”

 

“And what if the people behind the accords are on the wrong side? You’re just another one of their pawns.”

 

“Then we’d face that challenge together, as a team.” Tony stood up, his hands clenched into fists.

 

“Working through challenges. Fighting aliens. Defending the righteous and crap. That’s what we were supposed to do… but no you decided to throw your chips in with a criminal, simply because he had a sad story to tell.”

 

“Tony—“

 

“You’d send your friends to hell for your ideals.”

 

Steve stood, his chair skittering across the floor several inches behind him.

 

“I wasn’t the one who started this.”

 

“How about you finish it then, huh?. Right now. You and me.”

 

“Stop this!” Pepper snapped drawing both men’s attention to her.

 

“Now is not the time to fight. You can deal with your personal issues later.”

 

She paused eyeing Tony.

 

“Steve we called you here because you have information on the criminal that attacked Peter?”

 

Steve begrudgingly sat down, his eyes never leaving Tony. 

 

Tony continued standing. He wasn’t done here. He wouldn’t stand down just yet.

 

The room returned to its uncomfortable silence at the beginning of their ‘peaceful conversation’, but it felt different then when they had first started. At least the tension was less prominent. 

 

Steve held his hands up in defeat, his shoulders lowering wearily. 

 

“My intention weren’t to argue with you Tony, I just want to help.”

 

Tony grit his teeth, holding back the snide response Pepper would definitely strangle him for saying.  _ Remember Peter. You’re doing this for Peter.  _

 

Steve waited for a response, but when Tony offered none he continued.

 

“We’ve been gathering information on this guy for a while now, and I have a hunch on where his armor and powers come from.” 

 

“Yeah? And what’s your ‘hunch’” Tony asked, not caring to mask the sarcastic edge in his voice. He casually drew his phone from his pocket. 

 

Well the style and design of the armor reminds me of a certain asgardian we know.”

 

“Ok sure, I’ve considered the orphan maker being asgardian, but it’s unlikely.”

 

“You might want to reconsider.” Steve slipped his hand inside his leather jacket pulling a piece of paper out and tossing it across the table.

 

Tony picked the paper up. it’s glossy texture was no surprise to him. 

 

Another photo.

 

He flipped the paper to see an image with worse visibility then the one Clint and Sam had shown him. He placed the photo back on the table, and took a picture of it with his phone. 

 

“Jarvis, inhance this.” A separate glowing screen appeared before Tony, containing a slightly less grainy image of two figures in a back alley. One of the figures appeared to be the Orphan Maker. The other a younger man in distress. A glowing blue sphere was hovering over the orphan maker’s open palm. The other person was cowering against the grimey brick wall of the ally, making a futile attempt at shielding themselves.

 

He couldn’t stop his mind from replacing the victim with peter. Wide eyed with fear. Shielding his face with his arms in a last ditch attempt at protecting himself.

 

Tony scowled.

 

He could see in this image that the armor was definitely glowing. And there seemed to be small symbols etched into the shiny metal plates of the armor. He squinted to see them but it was too grainy to read any of the markings. 

 

“This doesn’t tell me anything new.” Tony looked threw the translucent floating screen at Steve, raising an eyebrow.

 

“Maybe not, but i'd say giving Thor a call wouldn’t be a bad idea.” 

 

“With what phone? Thor could be anywhere in the galaxy right now.” Tony scoffed, he finally sat down propping his feet up on the table. “No one’s heard from goldy since he left.”

 

_ Since Ultron.  _

 

Steve seemed to understand Tony’s thoughts. He nodded smiling slightly as he leaned back in his own chair.

 

“Actually, he might be closer than you think.”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The gang is (almost) back together again! 
> 
> Leave a comment or kudos if this did not make you cringe. Thanks for reading! I hope you all had a happy Memorial Day. (✪㉨✪)  
> .  
> .  
> .  
> .  
> Oh... and heads up, I’m ignoring Thor Ragnarok in this fic (or at least pushing it forward a bit) so we can have Thor. I am aware I’ve *ahem* broken the rules of Canon with my writing multiple times, but I felt the need to clarify this for you all. 
> 
> I need Thor. 
> 
> Peter needs Thor. 
> 
> Thor is needed. 
> 
> Thank you.


End file.
